Home
Creators
Search Recent Random
Posts
Search DMs Popular Hash Lookup Tags Random
Importer
Import FAQ
Register Favorites Keys Review DMs Logout
Community
Telegram ThePornDude
Home Creators Posts Import Register Favorites Logout

The Abyss: Special Edition (1989) - Uncut Version (Patreon)

Published:
2026-10-17 01:17:48
Edited:
2026-10-17 20:22:47
Imported:
Tags:

Videos

  • 765688524.mp4

Downloads

Content

Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael Biehn, Leo Burmester, Kimberly Scott, John Bedford Lloyd, Kidd Brewer Jr.

Files

Comments

dys

Agreed on Aliens and T2 being a tossup for favorite Cameron movies, but this is a close third. I probably should just get it on bluray now that it's available, the only place I could find to rent the special edition was fandango. I do have mixed feelings on the special edition though, some of the added stuff is essential and some of it probably should have stayed cut.

Nick Stark

Well I just had to rejoin your Patreon as soon as I saw you reacted to this. Didn’t think it was coming up for awhile and was REALLY looking forward. Thanks guys PS: The other film I’ve really been anxious to see a reaction on is “10”

trenton gragg

The stress that Cameron put Ed Harris through during filming has been well documented. Harris talked about after one day of filming, pulled over to side of the road and broke down in tears. Vowed to never work with Cameron again. One thing Cameron does well in his films is having excellent female lead roles. Hamilton in T1 & T2, Weaver in Aliens, Mastrantonio in the Abyss, Curtis in True Lies, Winslet in Titanic and Saldaña in Avatar. This was Cameron’s test run for the vfx’s he would use for T-1000 in T2. Biehn was in the first season of The Mandalorian in 2020 and a season of the walking dead in 2022. Janusz Kamiński early filmography is crazy mixed bag. He was the cinematographer on the vanilla ice movie, cool as ice. After shooting Schindler’s List, he did the cinematography for Little Giants.

Rob Bob

Upon initial release, coming after stuff like Humanoids from the Deep, Leviathan, and Deep Star Six, there was a little bit of a general underwater creature fatigue. Also, there were early reports that Cameron was making a statement against nuclear arms with this film.. Not sure where I read it, but it was one in one of the rags. To my surprise, the original theatrical release did not deal with that issue. I was a little confused to say the least. But nonetheless, all of it combine to have me give it a 2 1/2 star review; probably closer to two and three-quarter. Just slightly underwhelming was my initial impression. It was years later when I saw the extended version on the big screen. And given the distance from the similar films, and the restored ending, which actually did make the point I heard he was trying to make, immediately elevated this to 3.75 out of four. Absolutely my favorite James Cameron film, again provided it’s the extended directors cut. Gotta give credit to the guy. He’s left an indelible stamp on cinema as a whole, and specifically the sci-fi genre.

Mithroch

Later movies with Michael Biehn... the Wesley Snipes movie Art of War... which is a decent action thriller and I think he was a cop in Planet Terror. And yes, Ed Harris plays John Glenn in The Right Stuff.

Clare Manion

I’ve never seen this one, but excited to check it out! Yeah no, submarine duty sounds terrible! Once upon a time, my brother and dad did an overnight stay in a museum submarine as part of a Cub Scout thing - all the kids thought it was cool (probably because they were tiny), but the adults said it was like sleeping in a coffin…. And then there’s all the creepy stuff in the deep parts of the ocean, sci fi aside. No thanks 🫣

dys

When I was in Boy Scouts in Atlanta we were supposed to spend the night in a submarine on the way to a camping trip on Cumberland Island, GA, which I was really looking forward to, but the submarine part fell through and we spent the night in the base housing instead before taking the ferry to the island the next day.

dys

Yeah on the one hand it's incredible that so much of this is actually shot underwater for real and it's one of the most visually stunning movies ever made, but it's also by all accounts one of the most stressful and dangerous shoots of all time and I don't know that it's worth putting actors in that level of danger to make a movie look that real.

Daren

Did y’all catch the pantsing on the beach right as the waved stopped? Bottom left corner of the screen, one of the extras pantsed another extra and they either didn’t notice in editing or did and thought it would be a fun Easter egg.😂

dys

I'd say the premise of sending oil drillers makes a lot more actual sense than it did in Armageddon, they may not have been trained for this specific search and rescue mission but it is an environment they're experts in and operating out of the craft they're intimately familar with. I really love this Michael Biehn performance. Cameron cast him as a pure hero in T1 and Aliens, but gave him something very different to do in this which I appreciate. I was like 3 years old when this came out so I didn't see it until long after, but I was working as a lifeguard in my late teens or early 20s when I did get around to seeing it for the first time (as a big fan of Aliens and T2 already), with professional rescuer CPR and AED certifications, and my biggest problem then was CPR does not work that way.

Mithroch

Heh... I never thought about the fountain drinks before. Carbonated beverages wouldn't fizz and would taste flat. The carbon would still be there but the pressure would force the gasses to stay dissolved in the liquid.

ScarlettMi

Treat yourself to the behind the scenes stories on this one, as just about everyone almost drowned or punched someone or was punched. It was wild.

dys

cool detail, would never have thought of that before either.

Mathilde

I think the idea behind waiting for Lindsay to pass out is so that way she's not thrashing around while he swims, he might have lost his grip on her. But you can't ask Ed Harris about it. 😆 It's well-known that he refuses to discuss this movie to this day, that's how much he hated the experience.

ScarlettMi

So, the rat scene was real. They filmed a few rats breathing real liquid fluorocarbon and the rats survived. Ed Harris did not breathe the fluid, but the rat definitely did.

Roland (edited)

Comment edits

2026-10-18 15:00 Eleven years after this movie the Russian submarine Kursk would sink during an exercise. There are some definite similarities in how things played out.
2026-10-17 07:26 Eleven years after this movie the Russian submarine Kursk would sink during an exercise. There are some definite similarities in how things played out. The movie was also fifteen years before the tsunami in Asia that killed hundreds of thousands of people, so I think they might have handled the final scene differently these days.

Eleven years after this movie the Russian submarine Kursk would sink during an exercise. There are some definite similarities in how things played out. The movie was also fifteen years before the tsunami in Asia that killed hundreds of thousands of people, so I think they might have handled the final scene differently these days.

GemmaBeeBee

You asked how they filmed the effects - they built the set in an unfinished reactor containment vessel at an abandoned Nuclear Power Plant in South Carolina and filled the set with 7.5 million gallons of water. It made the set the largest freshwater tank in the world at the time. They covered it in a black tarp so there was no daylight. They also built a massive scale replica of the outside of the rig for the external shots. I also thought it was great that Cameron made Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Ed Harris certify as scuba divers so they could film all the underwater shots. Also the reason Ed Harris hates the film is probably a result of the accidents on set - you should look them up!

Genevieve Clerc

did you say "I would rather fight a tiger or a psychotic baby sitter" ? 😂

Roland

I don't really like the ending to the movie, way too happy and smarmy (especially with the aah-aah chorals)...but I'm not sure how else they could have done it.

Roland

I'd never seen the Special Edition before, and while I've seen the theatrical release a few times, it's been a very long time since the last watch. IIRC, it was mostly the end was different, and I don't think it was an improvement, very heavy-handed. I asked Gemini for a comparison between the two releases, which I've posted in the reply to this post, so you can avoid the AI slop if you prefer.

Roland

AI slop warning! > The main difference between the theatrical release (1989) and the Special Edition (1993) of James Cameron’s The Abyss is the restoration of roughly 28 to 32 minutes of cut footage, which fundamentally changes the third act, character context, and overall political message of the movie. Runtime and Pacing • Theatrical Cut: Runs about 140 to 145 minutes. It acts as a tighter, more claustrophobic underwater suspense thriller. • Special Edition: Runs about 171 minutes (nearly 3 hours). It feels more like an epic, complete story, though some viewers find the pacing slower. Key Added Elements in the Special Edition • Opening Quote: Starts with a Nietzsche quote: "When you look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you." • Cold War Surface Tension: Restores scenes and newscasts showing escalating global conflict between the U.S. and Soviet Union on the surface, providing context for why the Navy SEALs are on edge. • Deeper Character Dynamics: Adds extra character moments, including interactions among the Deep Core crew, a country song scene, and more depth to the strained marriage between Bud and Lindsey. • The NTI Climax (The 1,000-Foot Wave): The biggest difference is the third act resolution. In the Special Edition, the Non-Terrestrial Intelligences (NTIs) judge humanity as violent and self-destructive, sending massive 1,000-foot tidal waves toward every coastline on Earth as a warning. • The Message and Ending: After Bud makes his deep-sea descent and communicates with the aliens, the tidal waves freeze and recede as the aliens review global footage of human love and compassion instead of just war. In the theatrical cut, this entire surface-crisis subplot is completely cut, making the aliens' sudden peaceful departure feel more abrupt and mysterious. Which Version Should You Watch? • Opinions vary. A consensus among many online film communities like RPG.net is that the theatrical cut is tighter and better for a first-time viewer, whereas others on Reddit feel the Special Edition is essential because it fixes plot holes and explains the alien motivation. James Cameron himself has stated he prefers the longer Special Edition.

Genevieve Clerc

very 80's version of "destroying the world" which appears to be only United States

Seth Walker

I'm happy you guys enjoyed it! This is my personal favorite Cameron film. The production values are unparalleled. It looks better than pretty much any movie made today. The miniature work looks so realilistic in a way that even the best CGI can't match. The cast is is top notch. Harris, Mastentonio, and Bein are so freaking good. I give Harris and Mastrentonio the highest praise for giving such fantastic performances in a movie that they both refuse to discuss. Their experience with Cameron was so miserable. The ending in the theatrical cut left out all the cold war context and the tsunami stuff was completely absent. The aliens basically just show up and save the day like a magical get out of jail free card. It rings hollow and cheap imo. This version may be a bit heavy handed (nothing new for Cameron) but the message it really brings the movie home. I wish we'd get movies like this more then every 5-10 years. The modern equivalents are Project Hail Mary, The Martian, Interstellar, and Arrival. They are all too infrequent. We need more visionary directors that take big swings and for audiences to show up to support them. Hopefully they treat their casts better than Cameron did though.

danzthename

This version is so much better than the theatrical release. They almost feel like two different movies.

Ben Gilbert

I last saw Michael Biehn in an episode of the second season of The Mandalorian. I first saw him pre-Terminator in The Fan a horror movie where he played an obsessed fan of Lauren Bacall’s character.

Jim Griffith

I read the novelization of this. In it, the aliens subtly helped Jammer recover, helped Lindsey recover, and I think they helped Bud survive his descent. FWIW.

Youtalkingtome

I think I have Titanic at 3, but this is most definitely number 4

Youtalkingtome

I always picture Ed Harris as super macho and intimidating, but he really is a soulful artist and the fact that James Cameron drove him to tears is actually insane

Youtalkingtome

I still have to watch the theatrical! Waiting for my 4k to arrive

Youtalkingtome

I agree. it's technically not a space movie but it really does feel like one. I am waiting to watch the theatrical but I really loved this ending. Can't wait to rewatch!

Michael Bennett

You guys were talking about your favorite Cameron films, this one is mine without a doubt. Absolutely groundbreaking stuff in 1989. I first saw the theatrical release of this film in middle school on one of those days where we had a sub, and they just wheeled in the TV/VHS cart. A teacher had taped the movie, and she attempted to silence any swear words. The class was in tears laughing during a scene where Lindsey was screaming at Coffey because it was just silence for like a whole minute, lol. Killer performances all around here. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio deserved a much bigger career after this, but I think she just wanted to pick roles she liked rather than trying to make it big. It wouldn't surprise me if she was pretty turned off of working on blockbusters after making this film. In my recollection, the original release included almost none of the final scenes with Bud and the aliens. They basically showed up and rescued him, skipping the whole conversation about nukes and tidal waves. I get why they did that, because the movie is already incredibly long, the audience has been through so much drama and tension that it's tough to ask them to sit through 15 minutes of exposition dumping at the end. But, even if it's heavy on exposition, there is a through line from the themes of the film, Coffey and Bud's contrasting leadership styles, Bud and Lindsey's relationship, etc. I had forgotten just how suspenseful this film is, the best example being the cable falling from above after the crane gets ripped off the support ship. Like we've all seen a rope before, but watching a many-tons-heavy one slowly pile up and having time to consider how deadly it could be... and then the crane goes over the cliff and we have to watch it UNravel, that was a bit of pure brilliance. I'm psyched you guys are going to watch The Right Stuff! That's another of my all-time favorites. You'll see a familiar bit in there that you just saw referenced in The Rocketeer.